Proposal: Lack of XAML Designer Support in WinUI 3 #10910
Description
Title
As a paid Visual Studio customer, I feel deeply frustrated and disappointed by the lack of a proper XAML Designer for WinUI 3.
In WPF and UWP, the drag‑and‑drop designer was a critical productivity tool. It allowed developers to quickly discover available controls, design UIs visually, and iterate without memorizing every property or control name.
With WinUI 3, this capability is missing. Developers are forced to manually write XAML and rely on Hot Reload or Live Visual Tree, which are useful but do not replace the designer experience. This is a significant regression in developer tooling.
As someone who pays for Visual Studio, I expect full-featured support for Microsoft’s own frameworks. The absence of a designer feels like a betrayal of trust and investment.
My requests:
• Provide a proper drag‑and‑drop XAML Designer for WinUI 3 in Visual Studio.
• Ensure parity with WPF/UWP designer features (toolbox, property editor, design surface).
• Communicate clearly to customers about roadmap and timelines for this essential feature.
Without this, WinUI 3 development is unnecessarily difficult and discouraging. Please treat this as a priority — developers deserve better tooling support.
Summary
I need a XAML UI designer where I can drag & drop UI element to design my desired UI, same as WPF & UWP.
Rationale
This feature is available for UWP & WPF, and developers are accustomed to it.
Scope
| Capability | Priority |
|---|---|
| This proposal will allow developers to accomplish W | Must |
| This proposal will allow end users to accomplish X | Should |
| This proposal will allow developers to accomplish Y | Could |
| This proposal will allow end users to accomplish Z | Won't |
Important Notes
No response
Open Questions
No response